OPINION

Jan. 17, 1997

Laid back attitude
enhances plane travel

Return to top Traveling can be fun. I say "can be," except for the fact you have to put up with people.

Most people in this world are nice and courteous. However, they seem to undergo a change when they travel.

I like to make sure there is ample time when I travel. I try to leave early and, if flying, get to the airport a full hour before departure as most airlines request. I believe this is why I've never had a bag lost or damaged on the many flights with many airlines I've made over the years.

I also abide by the request of airlines to limit carry-on luggage. Some people want to get to the airport at the last minute. They don't always have time to check their luggage or don't want to as they'd have to wait a few minutes to claim it when they get to their destination. Those people go wagging that luggage onto the plane, bumping into everybody and tying up the aisles while they try to find an overhead rack big enough or empty enough to stow it. All this time, people are waiting behind them so they can find their seats.

This process is repeated when the plane lands, as everybody wants to get off before the plane is even through taxiing. Then out comes the luggage, people get pushed around and hit by the luggage.

All of this takes the fun out of traveling. There's no use to be in a real hurry when you land, because it takes time for luggage to be unloaded, so I usually sit there and wait until all those people who are in such a hurry get out of my way. Then I leisurely make my way off the plane.

And of course, some people gripe for the entire flight about how uncomfortable the seats are, how crowded the plane is, etc. I don't really understand this, as most trips don't last more than three to four hours at the most unless the flight is going to another country. The conditions aren't that bad.

People who know how hyper I am probably can't believe that I don't get in a hurry, but when I'm in a situation where I know it doesn't do any good to get in a hurry, I am a realist and sit back and take everything in and relax.

Of course, it is more fun going somewhere, anticipating your destination, rather than the return leg when the trip is all but over. Traveling can be fun if people will just relax and not get in a hurry.

Unfortunately, those who get in a hurry make things difficult for everyone else. And airlines do have an occasional bad employee, just like all other businesses, who can irritate a customer.

On my most recent trip, I traveled on four flights, and one of those flights failed to meet my connecting flight due to weather. I was among many who had to make other arrangements. It was real interesting to watch the different reactions on how people handled this situation. I'm kind of a night person, so I didn't mind taking a later flight although it threw me getting to my destination in the wee hours of the morning. I got my sleep on the plane that was less than half full, so it was no big deal.

Other people just about came unglued. The next time you travel, as they say in Hawaii, hang loose.

My destination? I'll write about that next week.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mac McKinnon is editor and publisher of the Pecos Enterprise. His column appears on Friday.

OTHER VIEWS

Kentucky act shows what can be done

Return to top Kentucky did it. Those three words should be repeated often by state lawmakers as they prepare for the 122nd session of the Ohio General Assembly. Yes, Kentucky, our neighbor to the south, the object of ridicule by many an Ohioan over the years, gathered the courage to repair the way it finances its public schools.

Sure, it did so with a legal gun pointed at its head. In 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down the state's system of public education, arguing the financing method was inadequate and unequal. Lawmakers had little choice but to begin drastic repair work.

It may be that Ohio legislators require a similar incentive. The Ohio Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on the constitutionality of the state formula for funding public schools. Most lawmakers are doubtful they will act without an order from the high court.

This is a shame, because whatever course the court takes, Ohio public schools require immediate and substantial attention.

-- Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, on financing of public schools:

OTHER VIEWS

Efforts at unity lesson for Japan

Return to topThe European Union must address the daunting challenge of reconciling the diversity of its 15 member countries with the need to strengthen unity as it confronts its two major tasks for the year: preparations for the launch of the Economic and Monetary Union as provided for in the Maastricht Treaty and expansion into Eastern Europe.

For more than four decades, efforts to forge European unity have survived many crises by a process of constant adaptation to internal and external changes. Those efforts continue to deepen and expand as Europe endeavors to maintain its place among the political, economic and cultural leaders in the world.

While it has often been said that the Europeans are characterized by a respect for history and tradition, such respect cannot be equated with conventionalism. Positive conservatism - meaning a readiness to accept drastic changes in order to preserve cherished values - is the region's strong point.

Although many here have tended to look down upon Europe's seemingly slow progress during the 1970s and '80s, it has surpassed Japan in deregulation in a number of sectors. Indeed, progress in the unity process has stimulated competition within the European Union. The region's patient, long-term efforts to renovate itself provide a valuable lesson for Japan. -- Mainichi Shimbun, Tokyo Return to top

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